Sunday Morning, July 5th

The McDonnells have been keeping me busy seeing the sights. We went back to the Hermit's Rest Trail to see a few of the points we missed on Saturday. Got out about the same time as Friday but encountered large crowds at the bus transfer and were accused by some wild woman of trying to cut in line. Not a pleasant way to begin the day. Jesse and I laughed it off but Patti took it to heart. We were not line jumping but the way they have you arranged, its difficult to tell where the line begins and ends. They need the line ropes like the bank. Anyway, we got on the next bus and had a good laugh about it the rest of the day. We got off the bus at Trailview Overlook enabling us to have incredible views of the Bright Angel Trail. We watched people hiking up and down and then walked back to El Tovar for a uniquely delicious breakfast in their dining room. Definitely a place to take Dick because they have sumptuous choices involving eggs and pork products! Did a little shopping and then listened to a ranger talk about the first people to travel down the Colorado River. The high point of the day was the "lightParade" in Tusayan Saturday night. Definitely unique with wagons, floats and fire trucks decorated in colorful lights. We sat along the road and took it all in. Then on to the RV park at the end of town for music by a local country band with a great female vocalist who did a fine job on the fiddle. Lots of beer was being consumed and the dancing was not what you typically see in western PA. They do a great job with the 2 step here and it was so fun watching both young and old waltz around the dance floor. We went to bed early and were up this morning at 4:30 so we could drive out to Yaki Point to see the sunrise. Another beautiful day at the Grand Canyon. Today we are going to try to hear the 2 ranger talks we missed yesterday, especially the one about the condors. Plan to pack our lunch, walk along the rim and then stop at Kolb studio for the talk at 3:30. Patti and Jesse are back on the road tomorrow morning and I'm back in the library.